The publication notes that cheese scholar Carlos Yescas says the difference between a good and a great cheese shop often comes down to what’s for sale and how it’s being sold. A retailer worth its salt will seek out products from cheesemakers that share its values. Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge lands in the top 10 according to the Wine Enthusiast publication.

Wine Enthusiast notes that Boston is one of the original cheese towns, according to Yescas. The publication noted the following about Formaggio Kitchen, according to Yescas:

Yescas hails Formaggio as a standard-bearer in the U.S. artisanal cheese movement, noting how the 1978 Cambridge shop not only served as its own importer of then-hard-to-find European cheeses, but also spawned two other Formaggios in the Boston area and one in New York City. In nearly 50 years of operation, Formaggio has introduced generations of northeasterners to specialty cheeses like Valençay frais (the Loire’s ash-coated goat cheese) and Vermont’s esteemed Jasper Hills.